


Cat's-eye View

by bunbunko



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Frumpkin is the best matchmaker, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2019-11-06 02:08:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17930792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunbunko/pseuds/bunbunko
Summary: There's only a handful of things that Frumpkin cares about: sunbathing spots, clean fur, scratching soft surfaces and Caleb's happiness.So when a pink-haired firbolg with a loopy smile came into his life and provides him with all of that, he'll do whatever it takes to keep that firbolg nearby.Also known as, a Clayleb story told from Frumpkin's point of view.





	1. Who's The Fuzzy Soft Fellow?

It's warm and breezy.

The floor is perfectly textured.

The tinkling of the windchime is soothing.

Life is great for Frumpkin, who is laying belly-up near an open window. It's a bit hard to get the perfect sunbathing spot in this house, but Frumpkin managed to find that after fifteen minutes of rolling around on the floor. 

His human is doing human things on the sofa, not giving him any attention but that's okay. Because Frumpkin is content with just laying down on the warm floor, enjoying the breeze that is tickling his whiskers.

Just as he's about to roll over to warm up his belly, a knock can be heard from the front door. Caleb, his human, looked a bit panicked and hurriedly ran to the nearest mirror to groom himself. Silly him, if he would just ask, Frumpkin is more than willing to lick that unruly hair down.

When the front door opened, an unfamiliar scent drifted in and made Frumpkin's nose twitch. What is that? It smells like dirt, beetles and mushrooms. There's also a hint of... magic? Not like Caleb-magic or Nott-magic but like Jester-magic.

Hmm, it smells like the forest that Caleb used to take him for a walk to before they moved into this bigger, nicer house. Frumpkin stretched an rolled a bit to lay down on his side and blinked lazily.

He's very curious about this scent, but he's too lazy to stand up. What an enigma.

After a few second, his curiosity won and he stood up. There's a low murmur of a conversation coming from the kitchen so that must be where they are. Well, he can always beg Caleb for treats while he's in the kitchen anyway so it's not all bad.

When he arrived, he was greeted with the _tallest_ thing he's ever seen besides trees. He only saw the back of his pink hair and his _very soft_ sweater that Frumpkin would very much like to sink his claws into.

Frumpkin let out a short meow to greet him. After all, he's still very curious about this forest smelling giant.

He turned around and Frumpkin was greeted with the face that he saw once on Caleb's shining block of metal he called 'phone.' Frumpkin tilted his head curiously, why is he so big now when he used to be the size of his paw on the block of metal?

The pink-haired giant talked for a few seconds to Caleb and then crouched down so he can offer his hand for Frumpkin to sniff.

_"Hello there, Frumpkin."_

Oh! The pink man speaks Sylvan! Frumpkin bumps his fuzzy hand with his forehead and purrs happily. Finally someone that he can understand besides Caleb!

The fuzzy man that speaks Sylvan enveloped Frumpkin's body with his huge hand and picked him up.

 _"Look at you,"_ Caleb says with adoration in his voice. _"You're so spoiled, yes you are."_

Frumpkin doesn't care, he's currently being enveloped by the fuzziest person ever and he's definitely going to knead on him as long as he's holding him.

Both of them talked to each other in that language that he doesn't understand but he's okay with being excluded. He's getting sleepier and he snuggled closer to the fuzzy man's chest.

The deep rumble of his chest whenever he spoke is very close to a deep purr and he can't help but purr back. Frumpkin's paws push and knead on the soft fabric until he can't keep his head up anymore and dozed off on the warm, fuzzy hand of the forest smelling man.

\---

When Frumpkin woke up, the soft sweater man is nowhere to be found. He can smell a bit of that forest scent coming from Caleb but that's it.

He's a little disappointed, to be honest. He had not introduced himself. Usually he would ask Caleb to make them say their name, but Frumpkin got too excited.

Frumpkin sits patiently as he watched Caleb fill his bowl with wet food mixed with some paste that tastes a bit weird but supposedly good for his tummy. He's okay with not eating at all but it makes Caleb happy and honestly the food isn't all that bad.

Frumpkin chomped at the food as soon as it's put down in front of him. He's aware of Caleb watching him eat, something he always do ever since he can afford good cat food.

It took him a few minutes to polish the bowl clean and he sits back proudly, still chewing a little. Caleb smiled and gave him a chin scritch before he took the bowl to wash it along with his dirty plates.

 _Caleb,_ Frumpkin called.

"Hm?"

_Who's the fuzzy soft fellow?_

"Oh, right," he stopped scrubbing the plates to look at his cat. "I didn't tell him to introduce himself, and you practically fainted after he picked you up."

_I did not faint!_

"Yes, you did," Caleb tapped his temple with his finger. "I never forget anything."

Frumpkin huffed and thumped his tail on the floor. Caleb chuckled at his misery and Frumpkin thumped his tail harder. Why can't he just tell him without teasing him! He knows that he loves knowing people's names. It's like handing him a treat and then pulling back just when he's about to take it.

"Alright, stop sulking," Caleb teased. "His name is Caduceus, and I hope he'll be coming over more often."

"Mrrrp."

Frumpkin jumped on the counter and purred loudly until Caleb dried his hand and let him climb on his shoulder to scarf around his human's neck. Caleb scratched his chin as he walked to his bedroom. It's a nightly routine that they do, Caleb will pick up his large block of metal and play with it until he's tired and Frumpkin will watch from his shoulder until he fell asleep.

He watched Caleb play with his bigger block of metal, strings of words appearing on the shining glass. Caleb explained that this string of words makes him money and he would appreciate Frumpkin for not stepping on the sometimes warm block of metal while he's using it. So being a good boy, he's content with warming his belly on Caleb's neck, even if it's not the best source of heat.

Frumpkin watched the words run and listened to the soft clicking of the money making slab of metal until he dozed off and dreams about chasing a flying scarf on a field of soft pink grass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya girl is back on her fluff game  
> \--  
>  _"Italic"_ is speaking in Sylvan.  
>  _Italic_ is Frumpkin telepathically communicating with Caleb.  
> "Normal" is Caleb speaking to Frumpkin in Common, but he understands it anyway because magic.
> 
> I'm aware that the Find Familiar spell doesn't work quite this way but I just wanna write a talking cat T^T


	2. Muddy Frumpkin and Bath Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frumpkin got kicked into a puddle and desperately needs a bath.
> 
> Who knew bathing a cat would be a great bonding activity?

Frumpkin would never guess that this is how his day would go.

He was enjoying an afternoon stroll around the apartment. He jumped from balcony to balcony, curiously sniffing everything he can sniff. Then he made his way through the fire stairs to go down and walk around the block.

What he didn't expect is for some grumpy mean human to kick him to a muddy puddle after Frumpkin accidentally stepped on his shoe.

So now he's sopping wet and his fur is all matted with mud and he really doesn't want to lick it all clean. He's pretty sure he looks very miserable when he climbed back to his haven and pushed the window open with his head.

Caleb had fallen asleep on the table, head laid down on an open book. Frumpkin debated waking his human up, after all he's all dirty and he just tracked mud all over the floor. But then again, he wants his fur to be clean again.

The doorbell rings and Caleb's eyes blinked open. He didn't even see Frumpkin and just stood up as he yawned and made his way to the front door.

A greeting was exchanged and the now familiar footstep of Caduceus can be heard walking alongside Caleb's. Frumpkin is still sitting somewhat in the middle of the room, hoping one of them would notice his miserable state.

Caduceus, of course, noticed him right away as soon as he's in the room.

 _"Oh, what happened to you?"_ he asked.

Frumpkin gave the most pitiful meow he can muster and plopped himself down near Caduceus' feet. He looked up with his big sparkling eyes that Caleb had said was 'very disarming.' Frumpkin had no idea what it meant but he found that making this kind of expression always get him what he wanted.

Caleb immediately picked Frumpkin up and apologized to Caduceus for the mess on the floor and he looked at Frumpkin with mixed expression.

 _What? It's not my fault that I got kicked_ he protested.

Caduceus smiled at Caleb and they both talked about something that Frumpkin doesn't understand. Caleb blushed a bit after that and nodded.

_What did he say? Did he make fun of you? Should I bite him?_

_Nein, he just suggested that we give you a bath together,_ Caleb replied non-verbally.

_Oh great, please do. I don't want to be in this state any longer._

Caleb is kind of carrying Frumpkin away from his chest so he's dangling uncomfortably. He meowed loudly and swished his muddy tail to let them know that he's _very_ uncomfortable so it will be great if they stop staring at each other and start giving him a bath.

They just chuckled in return and start heading towards the bathroom. Caleb gingerly dropped Frumpkin in the bath and he digged in the cabinet for some cat shampoo and Frumpkin's favorite floating toys. Caduceus put the stopper in the bath's drains and turned on the water, following Caleb's instruction to get the temperature right.

Frumpkin splashed around the clear water and watched it get a little murkier from the mud. Caleb threw in a floating rubber fish and Frumpkin playfully pushed it around the slowly rising water.

After the water reached Frumpkin's belly, Caleb turned off the tap and began cleaning Frumpkin's fur. He tried to stay still as possible so Caleb can properly clean him. Caduceus pulled a small towel and began cleaning Frumpkin's face after he drenched it with clean water.

 _Can I swim around after I'm clean?_ Frumpkin asked.

"Sure," Caleb answered absent-mindedly.

Caleb seems to catch himself basically talking to himself as no one but him can hear Frumpkin. He watched as his human try to explain himself, a bit frantically like he does when he's embarrassed.

Caduceus just put his hand on top of Caleb's hand and talked in a very soft tone that made Caleb relax and smile a bit. Oh, that's a nice sight. Usually Frumpkin would have to stand on his hind legs and do a silly dance to cheer Caleb up.

Frumpkin stomped on the water, creating a big splash. Caleb shouted and shielded himself from the splash of water. He only took a moment to give his cat a warm smile before giving a splash back, although not as big a splash as he can manage. Caduceus giggled at the display and decided that he wanted to join the splashing game.

Before long, all of them got soaked by dirty water and decided that it would be a good idea to finish giving Frumpkin a bath. The water is getting colder anyway and Frumpkin is starting to feel a bit uncomfortable.

Caleb wrapped Frumpkin up in a magically warmed-up towel and handed him to Caduceus while he rummaged through the closet for the noisy hot air machine.

 _"You really love Caleb huh,"_ Caduceus whispered to Frumpkin.

He meowed proudly and snuggled closer to the warm towel. Caduceus used the opportunity to pat Frumpkin dry to the best of his ability. The cat doesn't mind the damp spots because he knows that he's going to be dried off super fast.

The process of drying him is not very pleasant one but if Frumpkin ignored the loud noise, he can definitely enjoy the warm blast of air.

As soon as he's completely dry, he's feeling really good and starts purring loudly to catch any of their attention. Frumpkin wants cuddles and warm bodies to sleep on.

"You have to be patient, my good boy," Caleb said gently. "We need to change our clothes first."

 _Okay,_ Frumpkin replied. _Don't take too long._

Frumpkin plopped himself down and watched as they both disappear into Caleb's room. He can hear muffled conversation and laughter.

Caduceus reappeared wearing Caleb's biggest sweater that he got from Beau as a gift. Even if that sweater is absolutely big on his human, it's kind of falls a little short on the firbolg. If Caduceus raised his arms, the sweater will ride up and show off his belly. Is that what they were laughing about?

Caleb escorted Caduceus to the front door and waved him good-bye. When he came back, he looks very relaxed and there's this small smile that is plastered on his face.

Frumpkin decided right then and there that he will make Caduceus fall head over heels for Caleb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 3.50 a.m. and I'm not proofreading this piece. I'll fix any mistakes when I'm awake enough👌👌👌
> 
> Edit: I'm awake y'all hope everything is in place


	3. Stolen Teacup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frumpkin is sad that the sun is hiding today and Caleb found out about Frumpkin's crime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally I can write a chapter! I'll try to write as much in advance now to anticipate my erratic schedule 😭

Frumpkin looked at the sky from the window sadly. It's been raining heavily since he woke up and there's no sign of the sun anywhere.

"I know, friend," Caleb said as he scratched Frumpkin behind his ear, comforting him a little. "I can set up a warm pillow for you to sleep on, if you want."

_I would love that, thank you,_ Frumpkin said, only perking up a little. Warm pillows are great, but nothing beats sleeping under the sunshine.

Caleb patted Frumpkin's head one last time before fetching a pillow and magically warmed it up. Frumpkin plopped himself down on the pillow and curled up to reserve his precious body heat.

Before Frumpkin can catch a nap, however, he was disturbed by the sound of Caleb running towards him while calling his name.

When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of a teacup. A white, pink-rimmed teacup with flower pictures on it.

Oh.

Oh, Caleb finally found it.

"Where did you take this? Whose cup is this?" he asked while shoving the cup towards Frumpkin's face.

_I stole it from Caduceus' house,_ Frumpkin answered as nonchalantly as he could. He did spent a few days trying to find where the firbolg lives. Turns out he lives on the second floor of the flower shop across the apartment.

"But why? He's been very nice to you," Caleb's voice softened into a more puzzled tone, rather than accusatory.

_He's been nice to you too,_ Frumpkin said, eyes half-closing. _Maybe you should go there, return the teacup yourself._

It took Caleb a second to understand what Frumpkin was trying to do. He blushed and just held the teacup tightly to his chest when he did.

"Oh, you sly cat."

\---

Well, Frumpkin should've seen this coming.

Of course Caleb would make him go with him to return the teacup. And _of course_ Caleb would make him wear the tiny rainjacket with yellow polkadot pattern that he bought several months ago. Frumpkin is perched on Caleb's shoulder, giving him the stinkiest eye as he opened his umbrella and walked into the rain.

It only took them a minute for them to arrive at the flower shop. Frumpkin can't read but he would very much like to know what the shop's name is.

He's not asking Caleb though, he's supposedly still sulking.

Caleb closed his umbrella and stored it in a bin that is placed in front of the shop. Frumpkin remembered that bin. That was his hiding place when he's waiting for the right moment to sneak in.

When Caleb opened the door, a small jingle of a bell can be heard. Frumpkin darts his eyes to find the source of it.

Before he can spot anything, Caduceus greeted both of them, drawing Frumpkin's attention to him. He's wearing this silly green apron with pictures of bees embroidered on it. Makes Frumpkin wants to sink his claws into it.

Caleb produced the teacup from his magical pouch, there is a scent of soap from it so he must've washed it beforehand. They talked briefly and then Caduceus turned his attention to Frumpkin.

_"Frumpkin, you're welcome to come and have a sip of tea with me if you want,"_ he said, kindly. _"But if you want to take a cup, please at least pick a plastic one so it won't shatter and hurt you."_

Frumpkin felt a little bad now. He drooped his head and meowed faintly. He stole Caduceus' cup and he told him to be more careful next time.

He only wanted Caleb to visit Caduceus' cool little shop.

_"Aw, it's okay, buddy,"_ Caduceus said as he stroked Frumpkin's chin.

_I'm sorry,_ Frumpkin said, hoping Caleb will give the message to him.

Caleb's tense shoulder softened and he gave Frumpkin a kiss on the cheek.

_"Frumpkin said that he is sorry,"_ Caleb said to Caduceus, offering him an apologetic expression.

Caduceus just gave him a loopy smile and scratches Frumpkin behind his ear with his big hands.

_"I do have a gift for you though, wait a second,"_ Caduceus pulled his hand abruptly and quickly made his way to a door.

Frumpkin looked at Caleb, searching for an explanation but only getting confused expression in return.

The pink-haired firbolg emerged from that door again, but this time he's holding a teacup with a picture of a ginger cat on it and a small brightly colored pot with some grass growing on it. Frumpkin leaned his head forward in curiosity.

When it is close enough for him to catch a whiff of the grass, Frumpkin's mind is _absolutely blown away._

What is this grass? Why does it make him so frickin' happy? A million question passes Frumpkin's mind and he's struggling against Caleb's hand that is keeping him at bay from that pot of grass.

Frumpkin stretched his arm as far as he can and started batting at the air. He must touch that grass, nothing can stop him! Except for Caleb's arm and the constant command of _stay still for a bit and I'll let you have the grass when we get back to our house_ pressing on the back of his mind.

After a while, Frumpkin stopped resisting the magic that bound him to Caleb and just stares longingly at the pot of grass.

He was snapped out of it when Caduceus gingerly put the pot and the cup inside a small cardboard box with pictures of bees and some words on it that looks similar with the words on the front door.

"Meow," Frumpkin meowed impatiently.

"I know Frumpkin," Caleb says as he gave Caduceus a sheepish smile. "Let's get you home okay?"

Frumpkin watched Caduceus waved them goodbye with that kind smile still plastered on his face.

Later that night, Caleb enjoyed a cup of tea with his new teacup while petting a sleepy Frumpkin who just had a blast with his potted plant.

Frumpkin purred contentedly and drifted off to sleep on Caleb's lap.


	4. A Splash of Ink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frumpkin is mad that he had to go down a flooded pipe and he's plotting his revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said that I'll write this in advance. I might've lied :')  
> Please bear with my inconsistent updates, love u all 🌞

Frumpkin is pissed.

He loves Caleb but sometimes he's really pushing that love to the limit. Like now.

Frumpkin loves doing errands for Caleb, like kneading on him when he's tired or picking up a tool that fell down under the couch. But Frumpkin hates the cold, especially cold water. And Frumpkin knows that Caleb knows that because he complains about it all the time.

And now Frumpkin is soaked and cold because Caleb asked him to go down a semi-flooded pipe to pick up a small trinket that he says is too important to be lost in a sewer.

Frumpkin managed to grab it before it fell down to the gutter. Caleb is very happy about it but Frumpkin's not impressed.

At all.

So he sat down on his usual perching place, a wooden plank affixed to the wall above Caleb's bedroom, grumpily thumping his tail on it repeatedly. He must plan a revenge.

He watched Caleb going about his day like he didn't do anything wrong. He did dry him up right away and even gave him a warm blanket to chew on but Frumpkin thinks that it's not enough.

Caleb looks pretty giddy and he has spent the last 30 minutes trying to brew tea in a fancy teapot. Is Caduceus coming? Oh will he give him that delicious treat and groom him again?

Frumpkin shakes his head to perish the thought of being brushed under the sunlight by the firbolg. He has to focus on the task at hand.

The doorbell rang and Caleb hastily arranged the teacups that he's been wiping meticulously. He wiped his hand on his pants before running to the front door.

The moment Caleb is out of sight, Frumpkin jumped down from his perching place. He scanned the room quickly to find things to knock, and his eyes landed on Caleb's component shelf.

His eyes practically glinted before he jumped on it and made his way quickly to the top, where he kept all of his inks and other liquids.

When Caduceus came into view, he ducked behind a large pot and observed both of them to see if they noticed him.

So far they're too engrossed in their own conversation and Caleb kept fussing over his teapot to notice Frumpkin lurking somewhere he shouldn't. Good.

Frumpkin eyed everything that is on the top shelf. He had to mentally restrain himself from knocking everything off the shelf, because he doesn't want to actually make Caleb very sad. He just wants him to know that he's upset with the pipe incident.

In the midst of plotting, Frumpkin failed to notice that they both are walking towards the component shelf. Caleb is talking animatedly while gesturing towards some materials and Caduceus is nodding and smiling.

So when Frumpkin knocked a bottle of ink over the edge, he didn't expect Caduceus to be standing right where it's going to drop.

"Ow!"

Frumpkin peered over the shelf and saw Caduceus' bright pink hair is now covered in black ink. The bottle rolls innocently on the floor, spilling leftover inks all over the wooden floor.

Caduceus looked up and spotted Frumpkin that is frozen on the spot with his paw still in the air.

 _"Frumpkin, what are you doing up there?"_ he asked.

Caleb looked mortified and hastily grabbed the nearest towel, which is Frumpkin's warm towel that he has been chewing on. He helped Caduceus wipe off most of the ink that covered his face.

Frumpkin jumped down and looked up with apologetic eyes.

 _"It's okay, I can clean up,"_ he says as he rolled up his loose sleeves to prevent more staining. As he pushed his hair away, Frumpkin spotted something familiar hanging from his neck.

It's the trinket that Caleb had asked him to fetch from the pipe.

Caduceus excused himself and made his way to the bathroom, Caleb followed to show him where he keeps the towels. As soon as Caduceus closed the door, Caleb turned around to look at Frumpkin with disappointment on his face.

"I told you not to climb the shelf," he sighed. "It's because of this morning, isn't it?"

Frumpkin's ears flattened and he sent out a small _yes._ He looked up to see Caleb sighing and moving to crouch down in front of him.

"I'm sorry I made you go down that pipe," he says as he reached out so Frumpkin can head-butt his hand. "But that necklace is really special and it's a birthday gift for Caduceus."

 _I understand now,_ Frumpkin licked Caleb's finger that is stained with ink. _I'm sorry for knocking the ink too._

Caleb let Frumpkin partially climb on him to lick his face. He gave a small laugh and picked Frumpkin up so they can cuddle while they wait for Caduceus to finish cleaning up.

Frumpkin was in the process of chewing a hole into Caleb's well-worn sweater when the bathroom door opened with a click and Caduceus emerged with a damp hair and a bundle of wet clothes. He's wearing one of Caleb's bathrobe that is extra soft and has met Frumpkin's claw a number of time, despite Caleb's protests.

"Stay here for a bit," Caleb says as he picked up Frumpkin and put him down on the sofa.

The ginger cat folded his paws and watched as his human and the warm pink firbolg interact with each other. Frumpkin wishes that he can understand Common so he'll know what they are talking about.

It wasn't long until Caleb took Caduceus' wet clothes and took it to the noisy room with the big clothes-spinning box that can produce piles of warm clothes. The perfect sleeping spot, but Caleb always picks him up and told him to sleep on his warm pillow instead.

By the time Frumpkin almost dozed off on the sofa, Caduceus had emerged from the noisy room with his now dry clothes and his human following behind with a flushed face. Huh, what did they do in there?

Caduceus leaned down and pressed his lips on Caleb's cheek, something that Caleb has done to him if Frumpkin is being very nice to him.

Maybe Caleb was very nice to Caduceus in the noisy room.

Frumpkin jumped down the sofa to follow Caduceus to the front door, all while meowing loudly.

 _"Okay, okay, come here,"_ he says with his gentle voice.

Frumpkin allowed Caduceus to pick him up and as soon as he cradled him, he pushed himself up to lick Caduceus' face.

Caduceus promised him to come back tomorrow so he can brush Frumpkin and maybe give him some homemade treats if he's nice to Caleb and didn't give him any more trouble.

Frumpkin chirped his agreement and snuggled Caduceus one last time before he jumped off, landing perfectly on the floor.

Caleb is smiling really widely after Caduceus closed the front door.

_Why are you so happy?_

"Oh, nothing you need to know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all know what they did
> 
> Edit: (forgot to plug my social media) if y'all wanna talk or just yell clayleb with me it's @_bunbunko on twitter and @bunbunko on tumblr


	5. Cat Costume Catastrophe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frumpkin does NOT want to wear clothes, damn it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *looks at last update date*
> 
> oh yike????
> 
> I'm so sorry y'all, don't know what happened there.

Frumpkin enjoys a leisure walk once in a while when Caleb doesn't need him.

He also enjoys being walked by Caleb, or being carried by Caleb around the block, or perching on Caleb's shoulder while he goes out to buy a cup of coffee and some warm bread.

Well, Frumpkin enjoys being on the outside. Unless it's raining or snowing.

This time though, he's being carried by Caduceus in his large arms that Frumpkin has grown to cherish. He’s definitely going to be mad if Caduceus ever stops visiting him and pampering him with affection.

Caleb walked beside him, one of his hand is carrying a cup of ice cream and he’s currently talking to Caduceus about something that Frumpkin does not understand. Not that Frumpkin wants to know, he’s pretty content with people watching and slowly dozing off on Caduceus’ shoulder.

His human made a strange sound and pointed at something that Frumpkin cannot see. He took off, as fast as he can without running and arrived at a pretty deserted shop, with some bored looking humans manning the cashier.

Frumpkin scoffs, sucks to be them.

Caleb pulls out his coin purse and starts fiddling with the clear box, making an excited face every time a ball comes out.

Frumpkin soon lost interest in watching his human accumulate multiple coloured balls in his arm. He focused on cleaning his paws thoroughly. He does need to groom it more often, he can feel the bits of sand from his litterbox lodged between his ‘toebeans’, a term that Caleb says Jester coined.

Before long, Caleb has accumulated quite a lot of balls and is now bagging it all with a paper bag. It’s always nice to have a new toy but does Frumpkin really needs all of those balls?

Well, maybe Caleb has something in mind. He wouldn’t say that he’s not interested in taking a bath filled with balls. Or chasing some.

_Caleb, what're all the balls for? Is it for me?_

_“Ja, it’s for you,”_ Caleb says as he shows some of the balls to Caduceus. _“It has little things in it, we’ll open it when we’re home, okay?”_

Frumpkin’s ears perked up at the promise of surprise gifts. He meows happily in response and looked at Caduceus with glinting eyes. Maybe if he gave one to Caduceus, he’ll like him even more and play with him even more.

 

* * *

 

Frumpkin is now hiding under the sofa and growling.

Who would have guessed that the balls contain the silliest costume Frumpkin ever laid his eyes on? Certainly not him.

 _“Come on, Frump,”_ Caleb says gently. _“I’ll give you plenty of treats when we’re done, we just want to see you in this hat.”_

 _Cats don’t wear hats,_ Frumpkin hisses. _That’s stupid._

Caleb sighed and stepped away from the sofa.

That’s right. Walk away, Widogast.

Frumpkin is still thumping his tail against the floor when he heard slow, heavy steps walking towards the sofa.

 _“Hey, Frumpkin.”_ came Caduceus’ face as he leaned down to look at Frumpkin with his patient smile.

 _What do you want?_ Frumpkin huffed angrily and keeps thumping his tail to make a point.

 _“Aw, I’m really sorry that you don’t like the costumes,”_ he continued. _“Caleb is just really excited to see you wear cute clothes.”_

 _Cats don’t wear clothes,_ he replied stubbornly. He heard Caleb repeating what he just said to Caduceus.

That’s right, everyone has to know how stupid it is to wear clothes.

 _“Oh?”_ Caduceus rummaged through the pile of discarded cat clothes on the floor. _“Not even this?”_

What Frumpkin sees is another pair of cat clothes. But glancing further at it, he recognized the design.

It looks like one of Caleb’s favorite sweater, but cat-sized.

He stepped forward curiously, a little bit hesitant.

 _“Interested?”_ Caduceus asked without any hint of smugness in his voice. _“You can be twins with Caleb if you wear this.”_

Now that pitch sounds very interesting.

Frumpkin slowly gets out from his hiding spot to sniff at the sweater that is still in Caduceus’ hand. His whisker twitched excitedly and he nuzzles on it for a bit. It feels exactly like Caleb’s sweater too.

 _“Do you want to try it out now?”_ Caduceus asked as he gave Frumpkin’s ear a little scratch.

Frumpkin sat on his haunches and raised both of his paws to let Caduceus know that he wants the sweater on him. Caduceus gave him a warm smile and slipped on the sweater gently, so he won’t squish down Frumpkin’s ears too hard.

When he’s done, Caduceus picked him up and showed him off to Caleb.

_Caleb, look! We’re wearing the same clothes._

Caleb’s face contorted into that adoring expression that he often makes when Frumpkin did a clumsy dance to cheer him up. He opened his arms and let Frumpkin jump from Caduceus to him.

 _“Let’s take a picture, okay?”_ Caleb says while he digs around in his pocket for his block of metal thingy.

_I still don’t know what that means, but okay._

They spent a lot of time asking Frumpkin to do a lot of poses. Frumpkin doesn’t understand why, but he’s alright with it.

After all, both Caleb and Caduceus looks very happy and that makes Frumpkin happy too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to say hewwo or yell at me at my twitter or tumblr
> 
> twitter: _bunbunko  
> tumblr: bunbunko


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